Compendium
by Xirysa
Summary: A collection of drabbles, vignettes, crackfills, and various otherwise unplaceable stories. 009: Pigs' Feet. Lucius and Raven—in which the former is a medical student and the latter... Is not.
1. Baby Mine: Louise, Erk

**Compendium**

**i.) Baby Mine**

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Requested by **Rethira **[on Livejournal]

_Erk and Louise, mothering._

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It was a cold rainy night when she first met him, a small child who trembled in fear and awe as he stood in the front hall of Castle Reglay, tiny fists clenched tightly at his sides. Such a sad little thing, she thought. So cold and alone.

But then, she thought, wasn't she just the same? She was just married, still unsure in her new role as the famed Count Reglay's wife, unused to the intricacies and politics of the high nobility, and as she looked at the small, pale child her husband had brought home, she felt a surge of empathy for him.

"Louise," her husband told her, "this is Erk. He will be staying with us from now on."

And then it began—her first forays into motherhood. The years passed as she watched him pass from childhood to adolescence and to the threshold of manhood, and now he stood before her, no longer a boy but a man.

Somewhere along the way she had borne two children of her own, her hair becoming lined with gray, fine lines creasing around her eyes with every smile, every laugh. He, too, had changed, no longer an awkward boy, but a man who towered over, head held high with pride.

And now it was time for the occasion she had long known would happen but did not expect to occur so _soon_. As they stood together in a small chamber near the great ceremony hall and the delicate young lady who waited there for him, she looked at him and smiled, forcing herself to hide the tears—of happiness? grief?—that threatened to spill.

"I must thank you," he said to her. "For everything."

She looked at him. "What for?"

He smiled. "You and Master Pent took me in when I was only a child on the streets. You raised me as your own, even if I was only Master Pent's student." He closed his eyes. "You gave me a family again."

"Erk..."

"They say that a son takes after the parent who cared for him the most." He opened his eyes, and for the first time she could ever recall saw them glazed over with tears. "I am glad that I have a mother like you."

And then he was gone, long strides carrying him through the ornate doors and to the rest of his life.

She smiled at the sight of his retreating back, heart heavy with a bittersweet emotion she could not name but finally understood. "Good luck," she whispered, "my son."

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**Xirysa Says:** So. A collection of drabbles, crackfills, and other things I can't (or am to lazy to) post as a standalone piece, originating from a meme on Livejournal. I'll gradually post the other fills in the next few days, and whenever I have other random drabbles I'll likely add them here too. Maybe some kink meme fills, too.

So yeah. Essentially, a compendium of smaller pieces. 8D

This piece was actually really fun to write. I love family pieces, so seeing this prompt, and subsequently filling it, was really gratifying.

Like always, feedback is welcome—thanks for reading!


	2. Standards: Priscilla, Hector

**Compendium**

**ii.) Standards**

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Requested by **weighed and measured **[on Livejournal]

_Erk and Louise, mothering._

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"_What are the roots that clutch, what branches grow  
Out of this stony rubbish? Son of man,  
You cannot say, or guess, for you know only  
A heap of broken images, where the sun beats,  
And the dead tree gives no shelter, the cricket no relief,  
And the dry stone no sound of water..._"

Hector nodded his head in time to the cadence of Priscilla's voice as she read aloud from the book of poetry in her lap, as he focused on his own reading material.

"Isn't that beautiful, Hector? Lucius was right—this is absolutely lovely." Priscilla straightened in her armchair and looked at him suspiciously. "Hector? Hector, are you even listening to me?"

Hector looked at her from where he lay sprawled across the loveseat. "Of course I'm listening," he said. "But Lucius? The guy's sleeping with your brother, Priscilla. If I were you, I'd seriously question his taste in literature."

Priscilla glared at him. "And _I'm_ dating a mindless oaf who still reads comic books—naturally, many people would question my taste in men, but I'm still with you, aren't I?"

He sat up. "This _oaf_ happens to be successful and handsome young CEO of Armads United—"

"—who would've led the company to bankruptcy and ruin a long time ago were it not for Oswin and the lost Cornwell funds." She pouted. "What are _you_ reading, anyway?"

He held up the comic for her to see. "It's a monthly serial called _The Sacred Stones_. It's about these royal siblings—they're twins—trying to save the world from a resurrected demon king thing. It's great."

Priscilla blinked. "It sounds like a story from one of those video games Nino's always playing."

"Well, it _is_ produced by the same franchise that makes a lot of those games..." He stood up and stretched.

"You're hopeless." Priscilla turned back to the book in her lap. "Sometimes, I don't know why we're together at all..."

Hector grinned and walked over to the armchair, leaning his arms easily against its back. "Oh, that's easy."

She looked up at him. "So what is it, then?"

Without warning, he leaned down and pressed his lips to hers with the passion and ferocity she had come to love and expect from him. She wrapped her arms around his neck, and when they finally pulled apart, Priscilla found herself gasping for breath.

He smiled wolfishly at her. "Easy: the sex is great."

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**Xirysa Says:** Again, for a drabble meme on Livejournal. It's also my first attempt at writing Hector/Priscilla, which is a pairing I find myself liking more and more.

For anyone reason, I ended up choosing an excerpt from T. S. Eliot's "The Wasteland" as the poem Priscilla's reading. (I actually feel like that'd be something she'd really enjoy, personally.)

So, like always, thanks for reading, and feedback of any sort would be grand!


	3. Five Stars: Sain, Fiora

**Compendium**

**iii.) Five Stars**

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Requested by **Sara Jaye **[on Livejournal]

_Sain/Fiora. "I had no idea he could actually cook..."_

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The meal set before Fiora was one she'd never expected to be given on a first date—an exquisite-looking lasagna and fresh salad, a bottle of fine wine cooling in some ice and, for desert, a tray of cannolis drizzled in chocolate and dusted with sugar.

But even though it looked appetizing, Fiora wasn't entirely sure if she could trust it—it was, after all, _Sain_ who had whipped up everything, just for their first date. Sain, the man who'd been chasing after her, begging and pleading and trying to use his "charm" to woo her, for two years before she'd finally said "yes"-and even then, it was only to shut him up.

"So?" he asked. "What do you think?"

Delicately, she cut a piece off of the lasagna in her plate and lifted it to her lips, and soon found herself pleasantly surprised.

Sain cracked his knuckles nervously—it was a habit of his she'd notice just after he began pestering her, an activity he did only when something truly was bothering him. Was her opinion really that important? "Well?" _Crack._"How is it?" _Crackcrackcrack._

Fiora chewed thoughtfully for a moment, then swallowed and looked at him. "I've had better," she said, and the way he visibly drooped was adorable, if only in a sort of pathetic way.

"Oh."

"I've had better," she continued, "but not by much." She smiled. "I didn't know you could cook. That's kind of neat."

Any previous sadness dissipated instantly. "Really? You liked it?" Sain asked eagerly. He pumped his fist in the air. "Does that mean you'll go out with me again?"

"Hang on a minute, I never said that..."

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**Xirysa Says:** You know, I think I really love the idea of Sain being able to cook. xD But, damn. Now I'm in a mood for Italian food. Cannolis~

Even if it is just a drabble, feedback is very much appreciated—thanks for reading!


	4. Old People are Awesome: Wallace, Marcus

**Compendium**

**iv.) Old People are Awesome**

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Requested by **New Paladin **[on Livejournal]

_Erk and Louise, mothering._

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"They're watching us, you know."

Wallace looked at his companion, the sweat on his bald head glistening magnificently in the gym's poor light. "Who?"

Marcus wiped his forehead with the back of his hand and jerked his head to the left. "Them," he said.

"Oh?" Wallace, with the subtlety of a a fist to the gut, turned to the direction is friend had indicated and was met with a sudden flurry of activity from the gym's younger patrons. "I don't see anything."

Marcus sighed. "They think it's odd, two old men like us coming in here an lifting weights with the rest of them, trying to relive our _glory days_."

Wallace blinked. "Are they really?" He furrowed his brow in thought. "We're not that old, are we? After all, you're younger than me, and I'm only... Only..." He shrugged and ran a hand over his head. "Well. It doesn't matter how old these younguns thing we are—we'll show them!"

"What do you mean?"

The older man grinned and began to walk toward a free treadmill. "When I was younger, I used to run around my college campus at top speed while wearing my football uniform, padding at all."

Marcus joined him at the treadmills, taking a quick sip of water from the the plastic bottle in his hands before stepping up to the machine beside Wallace's. "And what was the point of that?"

"Simple." Wallace pressed a few buttons, and the treadmill whirred into an easy jog. "It was just one step in my brilliant plan to get in shape. It worked, too—I'm going to show these kids how real men work out."

Marcus smirked and watched as his friend increased the incline and speed on his treadmill, glancing every now and then at the young patrons gaping in awe at the two "old" men who, apparently, didn't know how to "let go" of their youth.

_If this is what being old means,_ Marcus thought to himself as sweat began to bead on his upper lip, _I wonder what we'll be like when we're ancient._

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**Xirysa Says:** I need to write Wallace more often, man. And Marcus, too. Neither of them get nearly enough love.

Thanks for reading. Feedback is welcome!


	5. YEAH TOAST: Guy, Matthew

**Compendium**

**v.) YEAH TOAST**

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Requested by **Rethira **[on Livejournal]

_Matthew and Guy (can be slashy or not), something to do with toast._

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It was the quiet _ping!_ of the toaster that woke Guy that morning—that, and the cheerful whistling of the sandy-haired man bustling around the kitchen making breakfast.

With a groan Guy forced himself to get off the couch and trudge into the kitchen, running his fingers through his hair to get it back into some semblance of order.

Matthew grinned at him from the stove as the younger man took a seat at the kitchen table. "Good morning, sunshine." He flipped something in the pan he was holding. "Did you sleep well?"

Guy gave him a noncommittal grunt and rested his elbows on the table, slouching forward so that his dark hair fell in front of his face—he wondered for a moment how it had come out of its customary braid, but decided it really wasn't important after all. Instead he cast a sideways glance at the clock mounted on the kitchen wall and did a double-take. He turned to Matthew. "Why the hell are you awake at _six in the morning_?

The older man shrugged and turned to him, two plates of toast and scrambled eggs in his hands. "I don't know," he said. "Couldn't sleep."

"Makes sense," Guy replied. "That couch wasn't exactly made for two grown men."

"There's a lot of things in the the world that weren't made for two grown men, Guy." He grinned and sat down beside Guy, sliding the plate of toast and eggs to him across the table. "Hope you like plain toast-I'm all out of butter."

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**Xirysa Says:** So Matthew and his sooper sekrit innuendos totally went over my head until I reread this again. I'm ashamed of myself for not noticing it earlier—I love innuendos. They make me lawl. Maybe it's a side effect of being a college student and a band geek? (Band camp, anyone? Roflmao.)

Oh, and grouchy!Guy was way too much fun to write.

Feedback and reviews are always welcome—thanks for reading!


	6. Water Bill: Kent, Lyndis: rated M

**Compendium**

**vi.) Water Bill**

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Requested by **Improvisation **[on Livejournal]

_Pure, 100% unadulterated crap. I mean. Kent/Lyn. Taking a shower. _

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This chapter contains adult situations and sexual themes. Not appropriate for young readers.

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Kent never heard the bathroom door open, or the faint _click _as the it locked into place. No, what caught Kent's attention as he finished washing the shampoo out of his hair was a sudden draft of cold air and, when he opened his eyes, the presence of a _very_ naked Lyndis with him in the shower.

"Good morning," she said happily as she reached around him for the bar of soap.

He gaped at her. "What are you doing?" he asked, even though he was fairly certain that he knew what she wanted—and if he were being completely honest, Kent quite liked the idea as well.

Lyn pouted at him and began lathering her arms and breasts. "Taking a shower," she said. "We can save a lot on the water bill this way."

"I'm sure water conservation is important to you," Kent replied softly, not entirely focused on the conversation; a few soap bubbles clung to the tip of one nipple, and the sheen of the warm water on her lithe body was... Well, rather erotic, to say the least.

She shrugged and turned around, presenting her back to him. "Do you mind getting my back?" she asked, the innocence in her voice poorly concealed.

"Yeah," Kent replied, "I'll do it." He took the bar of soap from her and ran it along her spine. "Like this?"

"Harder," she said. "Use your fingers more."

He obliged. "Is this better?"

Lyn sighed. "Mmm," she said. "Much better."

"What about here?" Kent allowed his hands to go even lower, one hand on each of the gentle curves of her hips.

"That—" she gasped as one of his hands moved forward and slipped even lower, "—feels _really _good_."_

He chuckled. "You're a terrible liar," he said as he set the soap back in its dish. "Saving on the water bill?"

She turned around in his arms and pressed her hands to his chest, fingers playing with his nipples. "I had to say _something," _Lyn murmured before tilting her head up to meet his mouth, nibbling at his lower lip a bit before kissing him full on the mouth.

Kent responded enthusiastically, one hand continuing his previous ministrations as the other grasped at her shoulder, pushing her back until she was pressed against the wall of the shower. "It worked."

"Good." She smiled against him, and Kent soon realized why when she felt her hand close around him. He groaned and felt her smile widen. "So you like it?" she asked.

He nodded, one hand cupping her breast, forefinger and thumb rolling the nipple between them. "Enough talk," he said brusquely. Proper etiquette could wait.

Lyn seemed to agree, and as their wet bodies slid against each other in the warm spray of the shower, neither seemed to care that they were both late—_very late—_to work.

Or the amount of money listed on the water bill when it arrived two weeks later.

Lyndis shrugged. "Whatever," she said. "It was _amazing_." She wrapped her arms around Kent's neck and pressed her lips to his. "Want to go again?"

He never _could_ say no to her.

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**Xirysa Says:** Manna, I hate you.

...Alright, I don't. xD This was still fun to write, though.

As always, feedback and critique is welcome!


	7. At the Lodge: Sain, Priscilla

**Compendium**

**vii.) At the Lodge**

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Requested by **Asherien **[on Livejournal]

_Sain and Priscilla, hot cocoa and fireplaces 8D  
__IT'S SO GUSHY ZOMG. _

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All told, the day really had been rather eventful: arriving to the ski resort early that morning, spending a better portion of the afternoon up on the slopes, and now, in the bitter chill of the frigid mountain air, curled up in a special lover's suite, in front of a blazing fire beneath a thick blanket, with two steaming mugs of hot chocolate and one _very _cute girlfriend.

Priscilla pouted at him. "What?" she asked. "I didn't make a fool of myself out there, did I?"

"Huh?" Sain blinked. "Oh, no. Not that! I thought that you did very well."

She smiled and curled in closer to him. "Thank you," she said. "You weren't bad, either." For a few moments she didn't say anything. "Sain, what are you thinking about?"

Distracted once again by the dazzling vision of loveliness pressing against his body— in some areas, the pressing was in a way her _charming _brother surely didn't approve of— Sain once again took a few moments to respond.

"Ah. I was..." He paused for a moment, trying to figure out the best way to phrase his thoughts. "I was trying to figure out how a guy like me could have ever ended up with a lovely lady such as yourself."

Priscilla laughed again. "And you're sure that I'm your first serious girlfriend?" She leaned toward him and pecked his lips affectionately. "You're so sweet."

Sain smiled at her. "I try, love," he told her. Somehow, he managed to wrap his arm around her and pull her closer, and as the two sipped contentedly at their cocoa Sain decided that he could put up with a stubborn and overprotective brother-in-law, if only for her.

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**Xirysa Says:** IT'S SO FLUFFY I'M GONNA DIE.

Um. Yeah, I still can't write fluff to save my life.

Anyway, thanks for reading— feedback is welcome!


	8. Babysitter: Nino, Louise

**Compendium**

**vi.) Babysitter**

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Requested by **Improvisation **[on Livejournal]

_Louise and Nino. Washing dishes. _

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"I never thought you'd wash your own dishes," Nino said as she scrubbed at the burnt pieces of brownie mix that clung stubbornly to the inside of the baking pan. "With a big house like this, I thought you'd have someone else to do it for sure."

Louise smiled at her. "To be honest, I never really liked the idea of having someone do the work for me. Even when I was pregnant with Klein and Pent insisted that we get a housekeeper, it always felt odd that someone was doing something I should have been doing."

Nino nodded and handed the pan to the older woman to be rinsed. "Yeah, I can see how that would be weird."

"But it's nice," Louise said as she drew her hand from the warm water and rested it on the gentle swell of her belly, "to have someone care for you so much." She looked at Nino again. "Remind me to pay you for your overtime," she said.

"Overtime?" Nino shook her head. "Oh no, I couldn't take your money! You cleaned your own kitchen, even after Klein and I made such a huge mess. I'm a terrible babysitter!"

Louise looked at the girl again. "A terrible babysitter? Nino, terrible babysitters don't bake brownies with the kids they're taking care of or watch _The Three Pegasi with them." She smiled. "You are __nota terrible babysitter." She placed the pan in the dish rack next to the sink and dried her hands on a handtowel before reaching for the stylish white Carriage purse on the granite countertop._

"Mrs. Reglay," Nino began, "really, I can't..."

But Louise shook her head as she filled out a check to one Nino Reed. "Nonsense," she said as she signed the slip with a flourish. "Now take this and go buy something nice for you and that boyfriend of yours."

The look on Nino's face as she glanced at the amount written on the check would have been funny if Louise hadn't known the struggles the girl had gone through to get herself a scholarship to a good university after the death of her adoptive mother. "Oh, this is way too much money! I can't take this much just for _babysitting..."_

Louise shook her head. "Then think of it as a graduation present," she said, "from Mr. Reglay, Klein, myself, and," she rested a hand on her belly again, "the little one."

"I..." Nino's voice trailed off, and she looked at Louise again, eyes brimming with tears. "Thanks," she said. "Thank you so much."

The older woman smiled gently. "So we'll see you tomorrow?"

"Yes, ma'am!" Nino said.

"That's good to hear." Louise watched as Nino leaned down to pick a large purple backpack from where it rested in a corner—she stilled marveled at how the girl could lift such an obviously heavy thing—and grabbed her jacket from where it hung on the backs of one of the chairs at the kitchen table. "Oh, and Nino!" she said.

The girl turned around. "Yeah, Mrs. Reglay?" she asked.

Keep up the good work."

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**Xirysa Says: **How come all the titles for Louise's chapters involve "baby" in some shape or form?

...Ah well. Idk.

Feedback is appreciated! Thank you for reading!


	9. Pigs' Feet: Lucius, Raven

**Compendium**

**ix.) Pig's Feet**

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Requested by **NewPaladin **[on Livejournal]

_Lucius is a med student and squicks other people with gushing over dissections. _

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"Fascinating," Lucius murmured as he mulled over the photographs in his hands, referring now and then to the text book resting in his lap or the screen of his laptop to cross-check something he may have ignored or forgotten. "Absolutely brilliant."

From where he sat across the room, Raven closed his eyes and pinched the bridge of his nose. It wasn't that he was disgusted by his roommate's interest in dissections and cadavers, but... Did he have to express his fascination so _audibly_?

"Raven, come here." Lucius looked at the other man eagerly, the light from his laptop reflecting off of his glasses almost creepily. "You need to see this."

"See what?" As the words left his mouth, Raven kicked himself mentally—now Lucius would never shut up.

Lucius grinned at him. "One of the cadavers we were working with had died from esophageal cancer. Come look—I'd had no idea that the disease could progress so far..."

It took only a glance at the photographs in Lucius' hands to send Raven's head spinning—he'd never been of the squeamish sort, but sight of the strange growths in the dead man's esophagus certainly... Bothered him, to say the least.

"I'll be right back," Raven muttered as he left the room and headed to the communal bathroom down the hall. When he came back ten minutes later, Lucius was reaching into their fridge, past whatever was left of the beer (Raven made a mental note to purchase more the next day) and the Chinese food they had ordered two days ago. "What are you doing?" he asked, almost hesitantly.

With a triumphant look in his eyes, Lucius pulled a bag out of the fridge, full of what appeared to be... Pigs' feet? He took the bag back to his desk, opened a drawer, and from it pulled a small box. Carefully opening the box and took from it a a needle and surgical thread. "I need to practice my suturing," he replied as he threaded the needle carefully.

"Ah. Okay." Raven grabbed his jacket from its coat hook on the back of his door and a pack of cigarettes and a lighter from the dresser. "I'll be back later—muchlater. Don't wait up for me." With that he left quickly, the door slamming shut behind him.

Lucius watched him leave with a strange expression on his face. After a few moments, he shrugged and turned back to his work. "Hope I wasn't bothering him..."

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**Xirysa Says: **I actually do have a friend who goes to the butcher and purchases pigs' feet and such to practice his suturing. XD It's quite amusing.


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